1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to implements for applying pushing or pulling forces. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved hand tool for lifting, aligning and holding a side-hinged door during its installation into a door frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hand tools for lifting, holding and transporting doors or other elongated materials prior to and during their installation are well known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,010,931, 5,814,841, 6,079,696, 6,378,191 and 7,784,802.
Most of these prior tools utilize a lever or support member that has a small surface area head that is placed underneath the bottom edge of the door. These have the disadvantage of allowing a door held in this manner to tilt laterally if the lever's head is not centered properly under the door. Furthermore, such tools generally do not provide any means for preventing the doors they lift from tiling either forward or backward during installation and therefore throwing off the vertical alignment that is needed during this installation process. Consequently, door installation is usually at least a two person job, with this second individual being tasked during the installation process with maneuvering the door to keep it in alignment.
An improved, hand tool for lifting, aligning and holding a door during its installation into a door frame is therefore needed—preferably one that will allow a single worker to perform such door installation tasks on a wide variety of side-hinged doors, from relatively lightweight residential doors to those weighing up to two hundred pounds or more for industrial applications. Furthermore, it would also be advantageous if such an improved hand tool could be constructed and sized in a manner that would allow it to be disassembled when not in use such that its components could be stored in a standard toolbox so that this tool would more likely be readily available on a worksite.